Mandrill - Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, having once being under the control of Spain, is the only country in Africa whose official language is Spanish. The list of indigenous languages spoken by regional groups include Balengue, Benga, Bube, Bujeba, Fang, and Ndowe. These indigenous languages are part of the Bantu family of languages.

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Mandrillus sphinx - Mandrills are the world’s largest monkeys and the most colorful primates. The sexual dimorphisms between male and female mandrills is greater than any other primate; males are twice the size of females. Mandrills live in large groups called hordes. These groups consist of adult females with their offspring. Males are solitary and attach themselves to hordes when the females are in estrous. The ecological status of Mandrills is considered threatened resulting from deforestation and the bushmeat trade.

African Oil Palm - Equatorial Guinea

Elaeis guineensis - The African oil palm is a primary source of palm oil, an oil used by the commercial food industry throughout the world. It is native to West and Southwest Africa, but is now distributed along the world’s tropical regions. An oil palm can grow to heights of 20 meters and produce several clusters of fruit, each bunch weighing as much as 50 kilograms. The pulp of the fruit produces an edible oil and the palm kernel oil is used as a food additive and in the manufacturing of soap.

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In 1472, Portuguese explorer Fernão do Pó became the first European to make landfall on Bioko Island, now part of Equatorial Guinea. The Treaty of El Pardo, signed by Spain and Portugal in 1778, ceded the area, including Rio Muni, to Spain. The British, having banned slavery in 1833, used an outpost on Bioko to disrupt the slave trade of other nations. Spain began to lose control of its few African holdings and bowed to international pressure by granting independence to Equatorial Guinea in 1968.